


Prompt 2: Tears

by GemmaRose



Series: 32 Days of Sanji 2017 [2]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Wakes & Funerals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-08
Updated: 2017-07-08
Packaged: 2018-11-29 10:14:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11438748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GemmaRose/pseuds/GemmaRose
Summary: Of course, Vinsmokes don't cry. Not even when they bury their mom.





	Prompt 2: Tears

Sanji bit his lip hard, squeezing his eyes shut as he struggled to breathe properly. It didn’t make sense. Mom was- she was Mom, she’d promised to see him again, to eat the next meal he made for her. She couldn’t do that if they put her in a little boat and set her out to sea.

“Sanji, c’mon.” Reiju whispered, grabbing his hand with a flower in it and pulling him forwards. All around her, the boat was filled with white flowers he didn’t know the names of. A large orange one rested under her folded hands, and three more fancy ones in his brothers’ colours rested over her fingers. Reiju set her pink flower down gently, and Sanji hesitated before setting his yellow one down next to it. All together, their flowers almost made a rainbow, though they were in the wrong order for it.

“Sanji.” Reiju tugged on his sleeve this time, and Sanji followed her back to their seats. The rest of the guests filed up and dropped their own white flowers in one by one, and Sanji blinked hard and sniffled. His siblings weren’t crying, so he shouldn’t be either. Stupid eyes, stupid nose, stupid lungs. He hiccupped quietly, and shrank in his seat when Father glared at him. When the last person had dropped a flower and returned to their seat, a bunch of soldiers picked up the boat and brought it over to the edge, where it was lowered out of sight.

A man in a dark suit with no hair on top of his head droned on about life and the sea, but Sanji couldn’t focus on the words. Reiju had to point it out to him, when the big fancy boat sailed into view, and he imagined that if he squinted he could see Mom’s boat of flowers in the middle of the deck. The big fancy ship came to a stop, and Sanji gasped as it erupted in flames. He made to stand, but Reiju’s firm hand kept him in his seat.

“It’s okay, Sanji.” she whispered, squeezing his shoulder just a little too tight. “She’s going back to the sea to watch over us.”

Sanji sniffled, and grabbed the handkerchief from his pocket to wipe at his running nose. Reiju put her arm around his shoulders and pulled him into a tight hug. “I miss her too.” she breathed, her voice as tight as Sanji’s throat felt. “But we have to be good for her. We have to-” her voice hitched in a quiet sob, and Sanji buried his face in her dress. If nobody could see, did it really count as crying?


End file.
